I enjoyed some of the poems in this collection but overall, it lacked cohesion in the way it was organized which I think is a big part of what the impact of a collection is. The language was also flowery and lacked experimentation.

2 Stars

This poetry collection was not bad but at the same time not very intriguing. Got about 11% of the way through, compared to the all the poetry collections I have been reading it just doesn’t do it for me

This was a very interesting collection of poems, and I'm not sure I've read any quite like it. It was slightly difficult for me to get into, but once I started reading and became engrossed, I did enjoy it. Very emotional and true.
Would recommend to poetry lovers, though it might not be suited to beginners.

This book is a very interesting way to look at yourself as well as how the society and culture where you live build-up and reflect on you over time. I love the way that the image and concept of the mirror are used in this book, rendering it as a way for the reader to consider thinking about their self while and after reading. This book is introspective and deep!

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poems. A super quick, interesting read.
There were, as I suspect is unavoidable, a few poems that I enjoyed less.
But, overall, I enjoyed the book.

This had potential, but sadly didn't do anything for me. I was intrigued by the description and some of the writing was really beautiful, but overall it didn't work for me...I'm not sure if it was disjointed between poems, or if the titles (which seemed as though they could stand alone) had nothing to do with the poems which led me to have a lot of "huh?" moments as I was reading it.

Still much better than a lot of what's out there, though. No Tumblr one-liners here, which is refreshing.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Interesting. It wasn’t my favourite collections but there were some good poems here, just found it a bit random and not quite well thought out in its construction. But some interesting stuff and thought provoking at points.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

Truly an interesting read. Many of the stories are quite symbolic and it takes several reads for the message to truly click. Loved the metaphors and motifs throughout the poem.

First, I must say I love the pop art vibe of the cover, and the title. I'm not sure exactly where these poems intended to land. For the skeptic? The millennial? The jaded? Maybe those in despair who have given up on humanity? That's how incohesive this felt. It's sort of a little from this school of thought and this one and this one......What does the author actually think because it's buried under layers of cast off ideas. Centrally, I know it's metaphorically the swallowing whole of everyone by the very technology we control, allegedly, of course. Beyond that, I see nothing else except words that sound nice together and balance each other out. In the end, I found little originality or evidence of well thought out ideas. I recommend only if you are not really a poetry person. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm wavering between 2 - 3 starts for this. There were some poems, mostly in the "Black Notebook" section, that I enjoyed. The first section, the "Blue Notebook," the poems just fell flat and I didn't connect to any.
Overall, I also just didn't understand what any of the poems are trying to convey. Maybe this is just me, since I'm not a big poetry person. However, I feel like there has to be some balance between being understandable and I "getting it" versus just being "out there."

If you are a big poetry fan, this might be the collection for you. If you are trying to get into poetry for the first time, I might not suggest this particular collection.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Title and cover were the first caught my attention. It was a good poetry collection. There were couple of really good poems.

The collection was...fine. It was average and a little foregetable. There was nothing wrong with the poems, but I finished the collection not know who the poet was or what exactly he was trying to say.

Poetry is more than just pretty words, but unfortunately this collection was not.

Lipscomb's poetry bluntly epitomizes contemporary problems ("Others think living behind screens is new, but we have mastered the ancient art of self-exile."), issues of technology and identity, and the fusion of these themes, highlighting with painful sincerity the refractive essence of being ("I have been gone so long / that even my image in the mirror seems out of touch."). Complex structure, lyrical flow, even in the prosaic sections, and detached tone; it invites the reader to actively participate, to converse with the text and not passively consume it.

"Conforming to the commercial whim / of a vacuum-packed idea, / we miss the true meaning of want and need / that you choose to calmly feed me. / Fighting to the last gasp, we always miss / the point of being more than just a name."

*I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

It was good, just some poetry hard to understand. Thank you for the book.

Very rarely do I not finish a book (see my did-not-finish shelf for reference) this is mainly due to my stubborn nature and optimistic outlook.

Straightaway, I wasn't feeling it. Each poem seemed like insubstantial crap. Harsh, unusual words from me, I know. But either it was utter drivel, or I'm as shallow as I feared.

Initially, I was going to rate this a 2 star on the off chance someone gets it and I was missing out on some deep, meaningful, cryptic secret. But, by god, it is boring. I felt like the author was using big, emotively strong words just because he could rather than because it made sense. My entire being remained quizzical during the whole dragged out reading process.

"I am a seed planted in an earth I could never belong to.
I am wishing upon a gas-filled sky to fulfill my dreams.
I am from hours of ideas lost to the laziness of being human.
I am the only one to understand.
I am planning something that I don't even know about yet.
I am too tall for the world around me.
I am singing the praises only to damn myself with my next breath.
I am too old to be in the state of imagination.
I am feeling full of something out of this world.
I am sinister in the sense that I'm always different.
I am bleeding away the false ideas I was taught.
I am losing a battle meant only for me.
I am split with splendor and hate.
I am stranger than the piller that tries to crush me.

I am - the only one."


This excerpt is the one I liked the most, believe it or not, and even then I can pick out so many holes in it. But generally, I actually sort-of-understand-this-one? Or I think I do, anyway. Or maybe I just really want to understand it because I don't like disliking a book. Double negative be damned.

I hope somebody out there gets it, tells me what the author is trying to say, and allows me to stop stressing out about a book I did not finish.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

I don't often read poetry, but this collection really intrigued me, and I was very happy to get a chance to read it! As with all collections, some poems struck me more powerfully than others, but all in all, it was quite strong and this is clearly a promising author!

Chemically Coated Personalities

by Justin Rawdon Lipscomb

Justin Rawdon Lipscomb

General Fiction (Adult) , Poetry

Pub Date 29 Sep 2018

I am reviewing a copy of Chemically Coated Personalities through Justin Rawdon Lipscomb and Netgalley:

This book explores the layers we accumulate in life . Everything from technology, social media, vice and love. We always have something that will leave it’s residue aside altering our way of thinking and changing in ways small and great who we are!

In this collection our emotions are called on, allowing us to feel these poems in a deep personal way.

I give Chemically Coated Personalities four out of five stars!

Promising debut for Lipscomb. Definitely a collection for life in twenty-first century. There was a lot I liked in Chemically Coated Personalities; from Lipscomb’s choices in titles to his interesting and evolving changes in style throughout. Although, some may find the latter a bit jarring.

Granted there were a few poems that missed the mark a bit, but that was neither nor there to be honest. The talent is definitely there and I’d be curious to see how his work evolves going forward.

This was an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Poetry can be divisive, and unfortunately the majority of Chemically Coated Personalities for me is unlikable.

The introduction is lovely, and I like the idea of a personal view into someones soul through their notebooks. I had hoped therefore to see progress in style of the later poems, after the first few poems were not to my taste. The style did improve, to a degree, however the poem structure for me remained too disjointed.

There are a handful of poems that I actually really enjoyed however - moments of clarity and beauty amongst jarringly fragmented ideas.

"I want it to rain,
so I can be rid of the tickle of your hand
at the back of my neck."

The sections of prose breaking up the poetry I found quite fascinating. The narrative structure used in these vignettes shows the potential of the authors grasp of words and intricate detail.

Ultimately this poetry collection was often hard work, which is not a bad thing if the results are rewarding. Unfortunately in this case the payoff was limited for me. Complication does not always equate to greatness; something can be difficult to analyse and still be, well, bad.

I read 50% of the poems in the collection and did not like them. I found the poems dull and they all blended into one. It's such as shame as there were a couple that had the potential to be fantastic but overall it was a disappointing collection.